Before & After: A Beige & Boring Living Room Goes Bright & Vibrant

When Jamie and his wife started looking for their first house four years ago, they really narrowed down what they were looking for so they could keep the price down. They bought "a decade old cookie-cutter suburban house." They didn't want to pour a lot of money into a house that they weren't sure how long they'd live in, but they did want to make their mark. So they took their time, got creative, budgeted and slowly took a boring, beige living room with oversize furniture into the fresh and comfy modern space that matches their personality better!

One of the biggest areas for improvement in this first house was the living room. It was a decent size but lacked any sense of personality: Harboring beige walls, a dated CRT TV nook, lifeless windows, and wall to wall carpet, it was truly a blank slate with nothing we were worried about keeping or working around. Sticking to a strict monthly budget that was also partially earmarked for other projects across the rest of our house, we worked on developing this room over a few years, replacing our decor item-by-item as we found the perfect pieces to suit our overall vision.

In truth there are still a few small things we want to change or tweak (one major project being the demolition of the drywall around the stairs to allow the installation of a modern, open handrail) but we are satisfied with how far it has come. We feel it is bright, cheerful, and modern while still meshing with the overall transitional style of the house. While it may not be our dream living room, it has been an enjoyable makeover process and we are happy to come home to this room after work each day.

Love the transformation! Looks like an entirely new house! See more photos of this fresh living room on their blog.